Capping-machine for cans.



P. L. JEPPERIES W. SPAIN. UAPPING MACHINE FOR dAN3. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18, 1911.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

5 SHEETSSHEET 1 F. L. JEFFERIBS & W. SPAIN.. CAPPING momma FOR CANS. APPLICATION FILED I'EB.18,1911. l flgfj ggg Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

5 SHEETSSHEET 2.

" F. L. JEFFERIBS & w. SPAIN.

GAPPING MACHINE FOR CANS.

I APPLICATION PILL?!) FEB. 18, lll.

Patented M1912.

5 SHEETS+SHBET 3.

P. L. JEFPERIES & W. SPAIN GAPPING MACHINE FOR CANS. APPIIIIGATION TILED FEB.18, 1911.

1,015,320. Batented M123, 1912.

5 SHBETSr-SHEET 4.

P. L1 JBFFBRIES & w. SPAIN.

GAPPING MAQHINE FOB. CANS 'APPLIOATIOII FILED FEBJB, 1911.

1,015,320, Patented Jan. 23, 1912 5 SHEETS-SHEET :3.

III

'WzZjz'sspsx tinrinn strn'rns PATENT carton.

FEBEDHICK JEFFERIES, E GRANITE CITY, ILLINOIS, AND WILLIAM SPAIN, 3 ST. LQUIQ, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS '10' CORN PRODUCTS REFINING COMPANY, A

GSR'PORATIDN OF NEW JERSEY.

CAPPING-MAGHINE .Fon cans.

miasao.

' Specification otLettcrs Patent. I

...App1ication filed February 18, 1am. Serial No. poaeoa."

To all whom it may concern: r

Be it known that we, FnEDnIoK L. Jar.- rnnins and WILLIA SPAIN, citizens of the United States, residing at GraniteCity, in the county of Madison and State of Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, respectively, have invented certain new and-useful lmprovements in Capping-Machines for Cans, of which the following is a specification;

Uu'r invention relates toa capping ma-' chine for canaandthe invention has its. object to provide apparatus of novel and improved construction for automatically forcing into closed position the caps. or covers of socalled friction top cans.

The invention has for one of its primary objects to provide a machine which operates continuously upon a succession of the cans instead of intermittently upon separate lots or batches in accordance with the ordinary practice. p

A. further object of the invention is to provide a machine which feeds the cans into position to be capped, caps the seine, and

discharges them from the machine by a succession of operations which are automatic.

- A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement by which the movemerits ofthe capping mechanism are gradual,and continuous movements instead 'of the relatively quick, intermittent, reciprocating movements employed 1n the'cap p1ug machines now in common use; this novel 7 organization of the parts of the apparatus resulting in a machine which'works more smoothly, is -.more durable, requires less power, and whichis less likely to crush or otherwise injure the cans than the machines which have been heretofore devised to do t-his'work.

The' 'invention has for. further objects to provide. certain other novel constructions,

arrangements and devices in can capping "machines which will be hereinafter specificallydescribfedand claimed.

The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, in theaccompanying clraw ing s', wherein I v v Ficure' EL is-a: front elevation of the ma- 5 c inc, certain parts beingomittedv for the s of c crness of illustration; Flg; 2, a,

tion taken on line 2-2 of Fig; .e direction of the arrows; tional plan. taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. i, fragmentary sectional tional plan taken on line '55 of Fig. 2;

7, a sectional view taken on line 77 of F1g. 5, looking inthe direction of the ar cam supporting plate 22. Plates 21 and 22 are preferably formed with bearings 23, 24

desired form ofdrivihg means may be employed for driving this shaft.

end of the shaftand meshed by a worm shaft-2? mounted in bearings 28 on thetop pulleys 29, 80 for a driving belt.

Keyed to shaft 25, and preferably secured thereon also by set screw 31, is a circular table 32 having-a'hub portion 33 extending table 32 is a similar plate 35 keyed to shaft 25 and. secured'thereto 'hy the s'etscrew 36.

guides the pressing devices or plunge-rs which perform the capping operations. These capping or pressing devices consist of plungers 37 carried on rods-38 extending through a boss 39 on the upper surface of plate 35, the rods 38 being provided at their upper ends with forks 40'having preferably jus'tment, said forks {10 carrying the anti:

the anti-friction rollers 48. 'The'pressingor capping devices are in circular arrangement. Preferably the plungers are given a form substantially like that shown in Fig. 8, and are arranged so that they Work one against the other. In the figures, except Fig. 8, only two of the pressing devices are shown, this view taken on line i--l of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5, a sec- Fig. (3,an elevation ofthe lifting cam; Fig.

for the main shaft 25 of the machine. Any

of plate 22 and carryingthe. fast and loose.

Table 32 serves. as a support for the, cans while they are being" capped. Plate 35 friction rollers 41 and,mounted on studs 42,.

Patented J an. 23, 1912,

rows; Fig. 8, a sectional plan on line 8-8 of" a base plate 21 and, at their upper ends, a

We have shown a worm wheel 26 keyed to the upper into a boss 34. on the base plate 21. Above a threaded, engagement therewith for adbeing for the purpose of clearness of illustration. On the under side of plate 22 is the presslng cam 44, a detail of which is shown in Fig. 9. Referring to this figure, the press-' ing cam is preferably formed with a relatlvely sharp inclinatlon at its front end, that 1's, from (1 to 6. Then follows a more gradually inclined section from b to c, after which v result of-this engagement the plungers are brought down gradually upon the covers A of the cans B, this taking place, relative to the cam 44, between 6 and 0. After that the plungers are kept closely pressed against the covers A, that is, between the points 0 and (Z on cam 44:. As the roller 41 of any given plunger rides out from under cam 44:, roller 43 starts to ride over a lifting cam 45, the

preferred construction of this cam being shownin detail in Fig. 6. As shown, it consists of a curved angle strip secured to the under side of the plate 22 and formed with a ledge 46 which is inclined from 6 to f and is horizontal from f to y. The lifting cam 45 positively raises the plunger-s successively after they have performed the operation of forcing the tops into the openings in the cans. In order to avoid the obvious dithculties which would result from the depressing and raising of the plungers solely by means of the two rigidly mounted cams above'described, we preferably provide an elastically mounted support for the plungers during the portion of their cycle in which they are being depressed against the cans, that is, the portion of the cycle represented on cam 4&- by the distance a, 0. Lifting cam 45 is formed with'a lug 47 to which is pivoted the curved strip or supporting member 4 8, the upper surface of which at the pivoted end is preferably formed with a somewhat sharp inclination 4:9. The other end of the supporting member 48 rests upon a coiled spring 50 carried on a bracket 51 bolted to plate 22. Preferably the supporting member has a guide rod in the form of a bolt 52 which passes through an opening 55.

in bracket Stand is provided with a set and adjusting nut 53. Supporting member 4-8 'is arranged'in alinement with the ledge 46 so that in leaving the ledge roller 43, of any given plunger, moves upon this flexibly mounted support. The plunger is therefore kept from dropping down on the can below it, which might injure the can and, in any event, would be likely to displace the cover, but it is yieldingly held so that the intended gradual depression of the plunger under the action of the cam 44- may properly take place.

The cans may be fed onto the table 32 in any suitable manner. \Ve have shown, and prefer to employ, an endless chain ccn'iveyer 54 running over sprockets on a. shaft 56 which carries a sprocket 57 connected by a chain 58 with a sprocket 59 on the shaft 27'. In order to properly position the cans on the table they are passed along a short guide (30 on one side of the conveyor and a longer guide 61 which extends for a considerable distance over the table from the other side of the conveyer and is curved or bent in the direction of rotation of the table.

Any suitable means may be employed for removing the capped cans from the table 32, or, of course, this operation, and the feeding operation for that matter, may be performed by hand. Preferably, however, we use a discharging device which, besides removing the cans from the table, turns them over into horizontal position so that they may be conveyed to any desired point in the factory by the ordinary can run. An inclined chute 62 -15 provided which leads from the table at the proper discharge point, and extending from the chute above the table is a curved arm (33. At the point where the cans leate the table an inclined member (34: is arranged which receives the cans and tilts them over into the chute.

The operation of the machine above described is as follows: The cans B are delivered upon table 32 by a chain conveyor 54. Before reaching the machine the caps A are placed over the openings which they are designed to cover. The guides (30, (51 properly positionthe cans under plungers 87. This takes place while the plunger or plunger-s directly above the can in question are in the raised position shown at the right hand side of Fig. 2. Following the course of any one can, after the table has been rotated so as to carry the can a short distance from the convcyer, the plunger above the can, which has been held up by the engagement of roller 43 with lifting 'am 45, is deprcsscd by engagement of roller ttl with the pressing cam 44. Roller 43 by this time has passed beyond the lifting cam and is upon the yicldingly mounted supporting member l8. The plunger is pressed down very gradually against. the can cover, forcing the latter slowly into the mouth of the can. The plunger is brought into contact with the can cover between the points a, b on the pressing cam. The forcing of the cap into the mouth of the can takes place between 7) and c. After this, that is while roller -13 moves from (2 to (Z, the cover is held firmly pressed in its closing position. This position of the parts is shown at the left hand side of Fig. it is desirable to keep the, plunger-s in contact with the can covers for ciprocating type of can copper.

some little time after the latter have been pressed home so as to prevent the tendency which the covers might have to spring out were they released as soon as forced into the cl sing position. As roller ll leaves the pressing cam is roller rides up the lifting cam d5. lhe action here is positive so that the can is always freed by the time it reaches the delivery point. this point the can meets the arm 63 and is forced 0d the table onto the inclined surface 64: which topples it over into the chute or run 62..

The operation has been described as though each of the cans was operated upon by single plunger and by that alone. It is one out the desirable features of our new chine that this does not have to be necessa rily the case. Preferably, in fact, the plungers are somewhat narrower than the cans and in any event, no efiort is made to centor the separate cans under separate plungers, 'llhe plungers work so close together and so gradually that if there is an oven lapping no harm is done. Any one plunger is but a trifle above or below its neighbor so that the position of the cans with respect to the plungers is of no particular importance.

lfhe machine operates upon the cans continuously and not intermittently. There fore it requires less power to operate it than is required by the ordinary intermittent re- Furthermore, the .ieed to and from the machine can uninterrupted. The slow and continuous movement of the plungers is well calculated to perform the desired operation as a machine so organized is less apt to crush and bend the cans and is more sure of bringing about a proper capping operation than to those familiar with machinery of this general sort some modification in the form, constructioh and arrangement of the elements constituting a machine may be made without departure from the invention. Therefore we do not limit ourselves to the particular constructions, arrangements and devices shown and described except so far as such particular constructions, arrangements and devices are made expressly limitations on certain of the claims herein.

We claim:

l. in apg iaratus of the character descrilj'uil, the combinavion with rotary table, of a series of plungers arranged above the table and so as to rotate therewith, a static-nary cam support, a depressing cam on the unoor side of said support, a lifting cam on said support provided with a laterally projecting flange adapts to be engaged by a nes which operate by relatively quick said plungers, and a yielding support for said plungers at one end of-said lifting cam.

2. In apparatus of the character described, the combination. with a rotary table, of a series of plungers arranged above the. table and so as to rotate therewith, a press ing cam with which said plungers are engaged and whichdepresses them, a lifting cam which raises the plungers out of contact with the cans, and alyielding support for said plungers during a portion of the period in which they are in contact with the pressing cam.

23. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary table, of a series of plunger-s arranged above the table and so as to rotate therewith, a pressing cam with. which said plungers are engaged and which depresses them, a lifting cam which raises the plungers out of contact with the cans, and a supporting device for the plunger-s which is pivoted to one end pf the lifting cam and yieldingly supported at the other end.

l. In apparatus of the character described, tho combination with a series of plungers, of means for siqpporting the cams in alinement with said plungers, means for raising said plungers, means for depressing the same, and a yielding support for the plungers during a portion of the depressing operation.

V 5. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a support for the cams, of a series of plungers arranged one close to the other so that more than one plunger may. operate upon a can, and means for successively depressing and raising said plungers.

6. ln apparatus or the character described, the combination with a support tor the cans, of a series of plungers arranged one close to the other so that more than one plunger may operate upon a can, means for successively depressing and raising said plungers, and means for automatically feeding said. cans upon said support.

2 ln apparatus of the character described, the combination with support for the cans, of a series of plunger-sin circular arrangement and formed with flat faces in engage udaited to enn'ae'c a liftin cam with which .l o 9 g the other of said rollers 1s adapted to enthe other so that more than one gage a support for said last mentioned roller pivoted to the end of the lifting cam, and a spring against which the other end of said supporting member hears.

f). In apparatus of the character described, the romhimltion with a series of plnngers, of means for supporting the cans in aline ment with said plungers, a depressing cam for the plungers. a raising cam for the same, and a yielding support for the plungers arranged at one end of said raising earn.

10.111 apparatus of the character described the combination with a support for the cans, of a series of plun ers arranged so that they Work one a ai the other and means for successively depressing and raising said plungers.

11.111 apparatus of the character described, the combination with a support for the cans, of a series of piungers in circular arrangement and which Work one close to plunger may operate upon a can, means for successively depressing said plun'gers, andkneans for raising the same out 'ofcontact with the cans. t

12. In apparatus oi the character described, the COlHlJlHfitlOll with a supportior the cans, of a series of plungers in circular arrangement and which Work one close to the other so that more than one plunger may operate upon a can, means for successively depressing said plungers, means for raising, the same out of contact with the cans, and means for yieldingly supporting the plungers during a portion of the depressing oporation.

13. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary tahle adapted to support the cans, of a plurality of plungers which are arranged ahove the table, one close-to the other so that more than one plunger may operate upon a can, means for positively depressing and positively raising said plungers successively, and means for yieldinglysupporting said plum during a portion of the depressing operation.

i FREDRTGK LESTER. JEFFEIUES.

WILLIAM SPAIN.

Witnesses F M. Sarina, A. H. Knnnino. 

